Study: Asian Carp Already in the Great Lakes

A new study suggests that Asian carp, the bane of pretty much everyone and the one species we all hope never makes it to the Great Lakes, is in fact already there.

From this story on moneynews.com:The aggressive Asian carp has reached the Great Lakes despite a government attempt to keep them out, according to a scientific report released Thursday. Researchers now believe the destructive species, which has been steadily moving northward for about 40 years, are now in southern Lake Michigan, putting at risk a sensitive ecosystems and a $7 billion fishing industry. The adaptable foreign fish outcompetes native fish species for food and habitat. “The most plausible explanation is still that there are some carp out there,” Christopher Jerde of the University of Notre Dame, the report’s lead author, told The Associated Press. “We can be cautiously optimistic . . . that we’re not at the point where they’ll start reproducing, spreading further and doing serious damage.”

According to the story, the two-year study searched the Great Lakes basin for Asian carp and researchers say they found DNA evidence for Asian carp being present in southern Lake Michigan, with 58 positive hits for bighead or silver carp in the Chicago Area Waterway System that links directly to Lake Michigan.